Man who removed mask and coughed on supermarket staff during Covid-19 outbreak receives 5 weeks in jail, Courts & Crime News & Top Stories



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SINGAPORE – A man who removed his mask and coughed into a supermarket crowd controller amid the Covid-19 outbreak was jailed for five weeks on Wednesday (September 23).

Singaporean Tan Shiaw Wee, who was free from the infection, committed the crime after he saw Ms Ng Poh Wei partially remove her mask for a few seconds to wipe sweat from her face.

Tan, 47, pleaded guilty on July 28 to a charge of harassment and a crime under the Covid-19 Act (Temporary Measures).

During sentencing, a charge of use of criminal force was considered.

Ms. Ng, 52, was working at the entrance to the Sheng Siong supermarket in Block 451 Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 around 8 a.m. on April 22 when Tan withdrew cash from a nearby ATM.

He noticed that Ms. Ng had partially removed her mask to wipe her face and scolded her.

So Tan took a bottle of hand sanitizer intended for supermarket customers and sprayed it several times before walking away.

Ms. Ng said she would take Tan’s photo and alert the police.

So, who heard this, he walked over to her, took off his mask, and coughed once before leaving.

Deputy Prosecutor Norman Yew had previously said: “The victim felt the cough and was alarmed and feared that she might be infected with Covid-19.”

Court documents did not establish how authorities found Tan.

District Judge Christopher Goh said Wednesday that it was “very unfortunate” that Tan had allowed “something too trivial” to get hold of him.

He could have been jailed for up to six months and fined up to $ 5,000 for the charge of harassment.

A first-time offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $ 10,000 for one charge under the Covid-19 Act (Temporary Measures).

A repeat offender can be jailed for up to one year and fined up to $ 20,000.



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